Chapter 990: Dream Clones Across the Lands
Londinium.
After a full day of forced marching, Percival returned to the ruined city of Londinium with the hundreds of humans rescued from the Human Ranch.
The entire city was celebrating the addition of hundreds of new companions, with lights shining brightly everywhere.
Percival stood alone on the city wall, gazing at the distant night scenery.
"Standing guard here?"
"Huh?!"
Percival was startled, instinctively thrusting his spear forward.
Only after seeing the figure of the cloaked man did he hurriedly stop his movement, looking at him with a face full of resentment.
"Mr. Cú Chulainn? Could you please not always appear like a ghost?"
"Sorry, this time it's really different."
"What do you mean?"
"Look."
The cloaked figure suddenly dissipated, transforming under the enveloping black mist into a young man wearing blue form-fitting clothes, a brilliant smile spreading across his face.
"This is the real Cú Chulainn!"
"...Saying that means your real name isn't Cú Chulainn, right?"
"Isn't that obvious? Using an alias when traveling - that's what you call being cautious!"
Somewhere else, a certain sage named Grimm suddenly sneezed, scratching his head in confusion.
"You should think of an alias too. Otherwise, everyone will know you're Percival, and you'll get focused down sooner or later!"
"This... I feel it goes against the way of the knight!"
Percival showed a troubled expression.
"I'll just fast forward to 'not understanding human hearts'!"
"?"
The blue-haired young man rolled his eyes.
Couldn't these die-hard knight code fanatics just die already?
Oh right, the one with the ahoge is already dead.
That's some dark humor, for real.
"If you ever get focused down someday, don't mention your master's name!"
"Hmm, not exposing comrades - that much I do understand!"
Hearing this, Percival immediately said with a face full of righteousness.
"Did you rescue everyone from the ranch?"
"According to your instructions, we rescued all the teenagers. We didn't touch any of the six central factories! Everyone is celebrating now. Would you like to join in, sir?"
"I don't want to expose myself too early. It would be terrible if word reached the Queen's ears."
The blue-haired young man shook his head.
Percival pricked up his ears. What did that mean?
Could he have some connection with the Queen?
"Is that really necessary? The soldiers of our Round Table Army all have backbone - they wouldn't expose your identity!"
"Who knows?"
The blue-haired young man smiled noncommittally.
"Percival, you trust your subordinates too much. That's not good. You shouldn't lack necessary vigilance. If you notice any signs of betrayal, cut them off early. Those kinds of people aren't worth saving."
"...I'll keep that in mind."
Percival paused for a moment, then smiled without saying anything.
Seeing his expression, the blue-haired young man knew he hadn't taken his words to heart.
The two rebel armies he had found so far - Bogart didn't care at all about his subordinates' opinions, while Percival had nearly blind trust in his subordinates. They were complete opposites!
It's really strange!
If these two could just average out, it would be perfect!
"I'll come by occasionally at night from now on. If you need to find me, wait until then."
After finishing his explanation, the blue-haired youth said nothing more and promptly dissipated into black mist.
Manchester.
This was a city located northwest of Camelot, with a pastoral atmosphere.
Although it somewhat resembled Salisbury overall, the architecture here leaned more towards modern European styles, while Salisbury was entirely rustic in comparison.
"Who's there!"
In a mansion at the center of Manchester.
A certain fairy knight suddenly furrowed her brows tightly and issued a sharp shout.
"Impressive, Barghest! You detected me so quickly?"
A cloaked figure abruptly appeared in the room, pulling back the hood to reveal their true face.
"Your Highness the Queen Consort?"
Barghest slightly widened her eyes, filled with astonishment.
"When did you arrive... No, this isn't your true body, is it?"
"Your perception is truly remarkable!"
Eiji praised her once again.
"You flatter me."
Barghest bowed slightly, a bitter smile appearing on her face.
"This should be an authority similar to a fairy territory, right? I possess a similar power myself, though it might be slightly weaker than yours..."
"You have it too?"
Eiji looked at Barghest in surprise.
Although Barghest was powerful, he hadn't sensed that she was a Great Mother-class fairy?
A thought suddenly occurred to Eiji, reminding him of that night in Sheffield.
Could it be referring to that extremely ominous power hidden beneath Barghest's surface?
"My authority... to be precise, it's not mine, but rather Forneus's."
Barghest set down the kitchen utensils in her hands, scooped some water to wash her hands, and composed her expression.
"I have a very peculiar rule - if I devour a certain fairy, I can inherit the authority they possessed. It's an insatiable greed, much like a black dog... Two hundred years ago, I devoured Forneus, the Lord of Cornwall, and that's how I repelled the caterpillar-type Mors calamity."
Eiji had also heard about this from Bogart. It was said that Britain urgently needed Forneus's power at the time, but despite it being within his capabilities, he refused to help.
So Barghest devoured him and inherited his territory.
From Eiji's perspective, he couldn't find fault with this matter.
"I actually wanted to ask you about the calamities!"
Eiji asked seriously about the main business at hand.
"Up until now, Britain should have experienced several great calamities. How many records have been preserved to this day?"
"Records about the great calamities?"
Barghest hesitated for a moment, lost in thought.
"Records before the Fairy Calendar are basically difficult to verify, but I've heard that in the first year of the Queen's Calendar, the Beast Calamity that devoured cities and the Flame Calamity that scorched the earth once ran rampant. Then, there was the incident a thousand years ago when Mors proliferated extensively, leading to the birth of the Mors King. The Duke of Heat Dissipation, Rainiac, confronted him but was defeated. The second-generation Woodwose soon appeared and defeated the Mors King, though before dying, the Mors King left behind the 'Black Dog' curse..."
Although this was an impromptu visit, Barghest formally treated him as an honored guest, answering all his questions without reservation.
"Your Highness the Queen Consort, would you like to stay for a meal?"
Half an hour later, Bagst held up a pork chop the size of a roasted pig's head, turning it carefully as she earnestly asked Eiji.
"It looks delicious... but maybe next time!"
Eiji glanced at his dream projection and could only sigh mournfully at missing out on such delicacy.
That night, Eiji's dream projection appeared in numerous locations across Britain, gradually dissipating only as dawn approached.
In a cave beside the national highway.
Eiji opened his eyes with a complex expression.
"The curse of the Mors King... you've had it rough too, Bagst."
"But the Great Calamity... what exactly is its true nature?"